Over 70 studies have taken place over the last ten years, their findings have been published in the British Journal Of Sports Medicine and the conclusions are that playing football for 15 weeks – around the length of a Leisure Leagues season – substantially reduced the risk of heart and lung disease, as well as lessening the chances of diabetes and leading to a weight loss of 5lbs on average.

All of which is good news to players who are joining the leagues Gillingham at Wodlands Sports Club on Monday evenings.

Furthermore, the trials also found that these football games had more of a positive effect on the participants than sports like Swimming or Cycling.

The UK governments own figures suggest that disability in the UK has risen from 15% to 26 in the years from 1993 to today. The age group most likely to be overweight or obese is age 55-64, but only by a small margin. Prevalence of overweight and obesity is above 70% among all age groups from 45 upwards.